


Muddled Truths

by DelicatePoem



Series: Swan Queen Week Winter 2017: Alternate Universes Cubed [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medical, Day 3, Dentist Emma, F/F, Fear of Dentists, Mentions of IV Sedation, Swan Queen Week, Swan Queen Week Winter 2017
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-21 07:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9537440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelicatePoem/pseuds/DelicatePoem
Summary: “Wow, Regina,” Zelena scoffs, “so Henry was right after all. You’re usually mean, but not that mean. And you’re even using ‘resting bitch face’ as a permanent facial expression.”Regina feigns indifference, flicking her hair. “I don’t know what you mean, Zelena.”“Pfft, sure. You’re coming with me, now, come on.” The ginger haired woman demands, using a calling hand gesture as well.“I’m not going anywhere.”Or, the one where Regina's afraid of dentists and Emma (surprise) is a dentist, and there's a truth serum in the form of anesthesia.Swan Queen Week: Day 3 - Medical AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My longest work so far, I'm proud of it! I'm still getting the hang of things, and I take several hours writing because sometimes my Portuguese overlaps the English and I forget synonyms or write overall confusing sentences, hence the lateness in posting this (again).
> 
> I'll be continuing the Day 2 and Day 3 works. Be on the look out for updates, soon!
> 
> If you find any mistakes, please do point out. As I said, sometimes I pass over stuff.  
> I want to thank Jen, who commented here and gave me some pointers about sedation. Thank you for your constructive criticism!
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

Her teeth have been being super sensitive. Added to that, the fact that she’s been having a headache every once in a while should’ve been enough warning to just _do something about it_. But no, of course not – Regina had to wait until she realized she’s excessively grinding her teeth throughout her morning, afternoon and night to even consider the possibility that something was wrong.

Work’s been stressful during the last couple of days, too. Maybe that’s it.

She sighs dejectedly; who’s she trying to fool? Herself? Or even her son, who’s too perceptive for his own good. He’s seen her clenching her jaw without realizing, and even confronted her about it one morning, before the school bus arrived.

“Mom, pleeease,” Henry had begged.

“No, Henry, nothing’s wrong, I’m not in pain either. This is not necessary.” The guilt over lying to her own 12 year old didn’t come, and Regina thought to herself, _I’m a terrible mom. I’m not able to tell my own son I’m terrified of dentists._

Henry raised an eyebrow, in true Mills’ fashion, and skeptically asked, “Really.”

Regina could only manage to nod, even as she started grinding her teeth again, this time from nervousness. Just thinking about dentists made her uncomfortable.

Ever since she was a child, her mother, the sweet Cora Mills, wanted her to achieve grandness, and to become successful in life. In that matter, no way any daughter of hers would have even the smallest gap on her teeth. Because that would be unacceptable and she’d end up being undesirable. Her sister had often bragged about not needing that much work of her own teeth. Ugh.

That’s when her fear of dentists began.

Regina was taken to the best in their small town. A slightly old, bald man she still got shivers from – he was her nightmare. Sidney Glass. The only explanation she gathers over years of pondering about ‘why was he so bad?’ and ‘why did it hurt so fucking much?’ is that he’s a sadist. No other word for it.

First of all, he’d extracted her front milk tooth because ‘it was impeding the arrival of the permanent tooth’. Let’s just say there was no permanent tooth for over three years. She was six at the time.

At eight, she hit a rock while playing and got a nasty cut on the right side of her upper lip, and broke a piece of her tooth in the process. Gratefully, it was a milk tooth as well, and only required some mass to fill it. She got a scar from it, too, from which her mother still tells her she should fix it somehow.

Sidney had prodded, used painful appliances with weird sounds, prescribed metal wired braces and, to make things worse, headgear by the time she was fourteen. Now that had been a pain. In ways more than one, for she was often ridiculed during high school, since she had to wear the headgear all the time to correct her overbite. One time, she got a small cavity. She shivers, remembering the agony. Thenceforth, she decided brushing her teeth methodically and using floss daily was a better alternative than going through that. Regina has no urgency to pay him a visit ever again.

So no, although now she’s massaging her jaw in an attempt to assuage her discomfort. No, withal her struggles to concentrate on the paperwork in front her, she won’t be going to see the dentist.

Or that’s what she thought.

Five minutes later, and someone is knocking on her office’s door. “Come in.” Regina says, frowning.

In comes Zelena, wearing a forest green dress (her favorite color), black high-heels (Regina doesn’t understand why she insists on those, she’s tall as it is) with a Calvin Klein purse. Also known as: her insufferable sister and official pain in the ass. Behind her, Ashley, her secretary, is doing a poor job on apologizing for the abrupt unplanned meeting. “I’m so sorry, Madame Mayor, I told her she had to pencil in an appointment but she didn’t listen—”

Regina, stoic mask in place, only says, “It’s no problem, Miss Boyd. Carry on and leave us be,” as Ashley quickly closes the door behind her.

“ _Wow_ , Regina,” Zelena scoffs, “so Henry _was_ right after all. You’re usually mean, but not _that_ mean. And you’re even using ‘resting bitch face’ as a permanent facial expression.”

Regina feigns indifference, flicking her hair. “I don’t know what you mean, Zelena.”

“Pfft, sure. You’re coming with me, now, come on.” The ginger haired woman demands, using a calling hand gesture as well.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Zelena walks further into the room, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Seeing as this approach didn’t work, she tries to be gentler.

“Sis’, I know why you don’t want to go to the dentist, and I’ll stop forcing you if that’s what you want, despite not being what you ultimately _need_ ,” Zelena starts, “but you should really consider making an appointment. Henry tells me you’ve been really cranky these last few days – I can surely agree with my godson. And you’re grinding your teeth now as we speak!” she glaringly points out.

“Look, Zelena, you know why I can’t. I can’t—” she puts her head in her hands, “—it was horrible. I don’t need it, so stop it. Every time it’s an awful experience for me.”

“Please, Regina. I wouldn’t be insisting so much if I didn’t think it was necessary. Besides, there’s a new dentist in town, a much better replacement since that disgusting old man retired last year.”

That gets Regina’s attention in an instant.

“A new dentist?”

“Yes, a blonde woman, quite your type, actually.”

“ _Zelena_.” she admonishes.

“See, no need to fret. I’ll even accompany you to the clinic if you desire. Just let me know when you mark it on your agenda. Ta-ta!”

* * *

Three days later, and she’s at the waiting room, nervous as hell (shaky hands and all), her sister next to her doing her best to offer support.

The waiting room is now colored in pastel blues, and decorated with beautiful paintings on the walls; as well as comfy chairs and a varied collection of magazines, replacing the cold sterile white walls and stiff chairs there were there before. A redecoration has evidently taken place. It gives off an inviting vibe – at least this was the feel she got when she first walked in. Way better than Sidney’s past choices.

There are two other people, who she recognizes as Elsa from the ice cream shop and Marco, the town’s carpenter, sitting as far from her as possible. They all fear her, the whole bunch of idiots. Just because she keeps her no-nonsense attitude intact, they avoid her like a plague.

“Regina, everything’s going to be just fine, I promise. Stop clenching your jaw,” she chides in whispering tones.

Before Regina can elaborate a snarky retort, opening her mouth to do so, her name is being called; “Regina Mills?” by a very much feminine voice and the sound of teeth hitting teeth is not a pleasant one when she clamps her mouth shut.

She isn’t going to admit that she visibly shrunk in her seat, in hopes that the blonde woman wouldn’t see her. It was no use, since her sister reveals it’s her by raising her hand and indicating to Regina, who glares so hard Zelena could’ve burned from its intensity.

The dentist smiles politely and motions with her head for the brunette to follow her, waiting patiently. Regina gulps, gets up and brushes non-existing wrinkles on her sensible pantsuit to delay the inevitable. She hears Zelena whisper a wish of good luck as her heels drag her in the direction of the stranger wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. The woman leads her through a hallway and opens a door which has a plate with ‘EMMA SWAN, D.D.S.’ in capital letters, followed below it by ‘General and Cosmetic Dentistry’. So now she knows her new dentist’s name. _Emma. What a lovely name, matches her well,_ Regina thinks, occupying her thoughts with anything that isn’t the – oh my – the torture chair.

“Please take a seat, Ms. Mills, I’ll be with you shortly.”

Heart pounding in fear, she nods and slowly takes a seat.

Regina can’t even acknowledge the way the office is beautifully decorated. She’s busy panicking, grinding her teeth now more than ever.

She’s taken out of her reverie by her dentist, who’s returned from whatever else she’d been for the last… how much time has passed? For her, it feels like an eternity, she can’t handle this anymore, oh my god; imagine if he drills her teeth again. In her mind, Regina’s inside Sidney’s office, nearly two years ago. “Ms. Mills, Ms. Mills! Please, take a deep breath. Shh, calm down.” Her widened brown eyes lock their gaze on the concerned greens in front of her. “That’s it, follow my breathing. Inhale, exhale. One more time, please. Inhale, exhale…” Emma continued to repeat that until her breathing was back to normal.

And that’s when Regina realizes she essentially had a panic attack in front of a stranger, a seriously good-looking blonde who’s also her dentist. She’s embarrassed and still scared when she says, even as her voice cracks a bit, “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for, Ms. Mills. A difficult experience with dentists, I gather?” Emma asks, as she arranges her cart.

“Unfortunately, yes. Although, if you breathe out a word about this, Dr. Swan, there will be consequences. As the Mayor, I can’t afford to tarnish my public image—”

“Don’t worry, Mayor Mills — is that the right title? I won’t be telling anyone.” She smiles soothingly to Regina, ignoring the obvious threat and only confusing the brunette with her reaction. “Ok, so from your file I saw that you had your teeth corrected completely by the time you were seventeen, right? Had a small cavity once, but nothing else. You said through the phone this wasn’t a cavity problem?”

“N-no. Thankfully.” She chuckles nervously, still taken aback. “Ever since becoming mayor, balancing things have been tricky. And I guess the stress has been getting to me. I’m grinding my teeth, they’re hypersensitive and I’ve already bitten my tongue by accident more times than I can count.”

“From what you’re telling me it might be bruxism, but I’d like to take a closer look to make sure and proceed from that. Is that okay?”

“Yes, go ahead.” Regina busies herself with closing her hands in fists to not panic.

“We'll be using IV sedation, so you won't have to worry about anything," Emma says, smiling gently. "Let me start the IV then."

* * *

_This shit is good, I feel like flying away…_

_…No, that would be not responsible._

_Who cares about responsibility when you have this gorgeous muse in front of you?_

_Emma’s cute. Look at those eyes, so green and—_

_I like her, why did we have to meet here?_

_She probably thinks I’m an idiot…_

_I hope she doesn’t see my scar—_

_—Who am I kidding? It is obvious, ugly!_

_…and she’s younger. I’m an old lady in comparison to this shell-bomb._

_Can I ask her out?_

_Bomb._

_How do I ask her out?_

_Pow!_

_Do I ask for her number?_

_My mind is going to space._

_Oh well, at least I can appreciate the view._

_Going to close my eyes for a bit, they’re sleepy._

* * *

“There, all done.” Emma says, taking off her latex gloves.

Regina opens her eyes, a bit disoriented and loopy. Emma had told her she'd be sleepy for about 30 minutes or so. She had concluded it was ‘Awake Bruxism’, but not so severe. Minor repairs around the damage to teeth that had already occurred were made, and now all Regina wants to do is laugh and cry and talk more to the blonde beauty – the drug made her brain foggy.

She giggles. “Thank yooou, Em-ma.” Apparently, she has no control over her mouth, either. “’Twas actually fun, I felt no pain like I usually do. Fuck you Mirroooooor.”

Emma’s trying not to laugh. “Who?”

“My last dentist, Glass. Damn him. Emma, I can’t feel my lips.” She smacked them a few times.

“It’s going to pass, don’t worry. For now, I’m going to prescribe you to reduce slightly the hours at work, just for a few days, and we’ll be making dental guards for you to sleep. After those are done, we’ll call for you to get them and I’ll give you more details,” Emma instructs.

“Okay, sounds good,” Regina nods, her thoughts becoming clearer – with that, the thoughts that were not clear before reemerged and she widened her eyes. _I was thinking about her all that time?_

“Let me remove the napkin from you—yes, move your head forward for me—thank you, there we go.”

Regina let her head drop back against the chair, still trying to make sense of her strange thoughts.

Ok, Emma _is_ beautiful and polite and intelligent and cute and attractive.

But it has been a long time since she’s last asked someone out, especially after her bad breakup with Danielle during her teens; there have been no serious relationships, especially with Henry in the picture.

“You can ask, you know.”

It takes a few seconds for Regina to realize Emma is saying something. She blinks. “Excuse me?”

“You can ask for my number. I’ll gladly give it to you.”

Oh. _Ooh_. She had blabbered out loud.

“You heard that?” She flushes almost immediately and looks away, imagining ways she can escape without ever seeing the blonde again. She’s going to die from mortification. (If she doesn't fall off the chair first. This shit is potent.)

Her dentist waved her hand dismissively. “Hey, it’s fine. That was adorable. Mostly grumbles and mumbles, but cute nonetheless. By the way, your scar accents your face elegantly. I don’t know why you don’t like it.”

 “I don’t _do_ adorable,” the mayor harrumphs, blushing and choosing to ignore the comment about her scar; she can’t believe it, not yet, “nor cute.”

“If you say so…” Emma shrugs, the corners of her mouth lifted. “Do you still want my number? Or should _I_ ask you out instead?”

That makes Regina turn her head back to Emma. “Wait. You were serious before? I’m so sorry for my behavior— highly unprofessional.”

“Hey, it’s not every day I’m called a ‘gorgeous muse’,” she grinned, “so yes, I was serious. Can I take you out to dinner in a few days? After you’re already adapted with your dental guards and all…”

So she’s serious after all? Even subsequently to her making a fool of herself?

Her sister will doubtlessly kill her if she doesn’t accept.

“I… Yes. Sure. I’m not very good at this…” the patient clears her throat. “Here’s my phone, just type in your number and we’ll keep in touch?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Regina watches intently as Emma saves herself in her contact list and hands out the phone back to her. “Okay, let me see you out then, I’ll text you in the next few days concerning both our date and your dental protection.” She helps Regina get up.

“Thank you, Emma. Truly. I wasn’t kidding before; my last appointments were a horrible nightmare. I guess not all dentists are Mr. Glass,” she alluringly smiles and moves to leave the office as Dr. Swan opens the door.

“You’re welcome, Madame Mayor,” she winks. "You need someone to accompany you outside, though. You'll still be feeling a bit drugged for some time."

“Oh, okay. My sister is probably waiting for me. Thank you again!"

* * *

They were in the car, Zelena having been on the waiting room after all.

“Did you just sigh happily?” Zelena asks, shortly giving a look to the passenger. “How did it go, everything okay?”

“Yes, better than okay. Fantastic.” Regina says happily, the effects from the drug almost gone.

“Whoa. Really? You’re not lying just to make me happy, are you?”

“No, you’d know if I was lying. I’m your sister.”

They stay in silence, the only sound being ‘A Thousand Years’ playing through the radio. Can today get even sappier? She guesses not.

Regina gets her phone, checking for the blonde’s contact. It’s under ‘Gorgeous Muse’, and it makes her laugh gently. She counts down. _3, 2, 1—_

“Soooo…” Zelena drags out the word, “What happened after all?”

Aha! She’s seen her sister’s curiosity get the best of her. Always.

“I got a date.”

“No.” Zelena glances at her to see if she’s serious. “Oh. My. God. I want all the details!”

So Regina proceeds to tell her everything, not detailing her thoughts, of course – it’s embarrassing as it is. At the end, Zelena barks an incredulous laugh.

“This is priceless, sis! Why didn’t I go in with you, damn it!”

“I don’t know, Zelena, but I’m glad you and Henry were able to convince me to go there.”

“Aww, that’s so freaking cute. You know that, right? Sometimes you’re a big ball of fluff. Yes you are.”

“Zelena?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up and drive.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call makes Emma judge wrongly.  
> A dog runs over someone.  
> Both of them are stupid.  
> (That's all I'm saying)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I've decided to continue this in the end. For now, I'll be updating this one as well as "The Woman From My Dreams". New chapter coming soon, by the way!
> 
> I'm worried I won't have so much time to write after school (I'm on my last year) picks up its pace, but I'll try to manage. Writing is helping me to develop my speaking as well, so I shouldn't let it go to waste!
> 
> A big thank you for my Beta, Sunriseyes.
> 
> Without further ado, hope you all enjoy it.  
> 

If there's one thing Emma doesn't excel at it, is with making her own schedules — punctuality to be more specific. Throw her a mathematical problem difficult enough to make your head explode and she'll solve it in less than ten minutes. Ask her to write either with her right hand or the left one and she'll have the exact same calligraphy. Memorize facts easily? Pronto. Now, whether she's able to wake from the land of the dead with alarm clocks? No. Especially with her current one, which is malfunctioning for some reason that doesn't have anything to do with the fact that she knocked it down in her despair while trying to just turn the damn thing off.

  
  


She's tried everything, yes: chosen an alarm that sounded as if there were a fire was happening and didn't wake up. The next step will be training her dog to have a shot at it. _Not a bad idea, if I'm being honest._

  
  


Today was one of these mornings. She had to scurry around her bedroom to find appropriate working clothes to wear after remembering she hadn't set an alarm to begin with. Tommy's pleading eyes may have distracted her as well. Therefore, she didn't eat anything substantial besides a cheap cereal bar which tasted like cardboard with a hint of nuts. Exquisite.

  
  


What succored her in the end was that Storybrooke is a relatively small town; furthermore, she lives three minutes give or take from her working place. Thank God.

  
  


Getting there, Emma offered a hastily shot out "Good morning, Helen!" and then scampered in the direction of her office to clad herself in her white coat. Just one glance at her desk and she saw her printed schedule on top of it — neat and perfectly done. She silently thanked the heaven stars for Helen, her secretary.

  
  


That had been close. Being late right now is not something she can afford (her tardiness habits tend to think otherwise). Moreover, her importance amongst the small town's citizens isn't prominent yet; her clientele isn't really vast at the moment.

  
  


Helen, who's probably only a few years her junior, is a blessing sent from the gods (whoever they might be). Always on time, as well - it doesn't require a search for evidence to say that Emma fails constantly on this. Ever since she commenced working at the dentistry clinic a month and a half ago, her secretary has more than proved her worth. The blond-haired dentist sometimes needs the extra help. Alone, she's certain to fail under the pressure.

  
  


Emma had her parents' help in landing this job — they'd emailed her about an opportunity in this superb town they were living in. She greedily accepted it.

  
  


_Meet people_ is on the list of things she doesn't excel at, thus, she has yet to know more people besides her family, her dog, Helen, Lily, who's her best friend and the waitress from Granny's called Red (or something like that). When she accompanies her parents to the establishment and everyone stops by Mary and David's table to engage in chit-chat, she has to uncomfortably provide a tight-lipped smile through her full mouth to whomever is talking with them. Talk about awkward. These citizens must think she's socially inept at making pleasant conversation. She left Mom and Dad in Boston when she was twenty to pursue her dreams of becoming a dentist and they turn up in this weird, small town where they've clearly become popular — go figure. Not hard to believe, considering they are extremely lovely people at heart.

  
  


To get her point across, let's just say this is one of those small towns where everyone _knows_ everyone. The catch being: she doesn't. To top it off, Emma isn't exactly what you would call a social butterfly, but still she's met Lily and they are 'besties forever' now. It was inevitable, really: Lily had been through the foster system and found a family with an adoptive mom, Mallory Dragon, who lives in town as well, of course. They have a lot in common, so it made transitioning from a lonely existence in Manhattan really easier. That should count if anyone is keeping tabs on her friendships or something.

  
  


Speaking of Lily, Emma can't help but recall their last call. It's all she can think about in the lonely hours: when she's either not working, talking with her parents or walking her dog around. _Regina_ had been their last topic that day.

  
  


"Lily! So glad you called, today was one of those testing-my-patience kind of days, you know?" Emma closed the door behind her, keeping the phone in her ear with her shoulder as she crouched to greet her Golden Retriever by petting him absently.

  
  


"Hey Swan! I know what you mean. Had one of the worst kind of customers today…" Lily launched into the story about a guy who was an 'ungrateful son of a bitch who kept returning his coffee every time'. She works at Storybrooke Coffee Co., a place where she more often than not has to deal with aloof and irritating people in desperate need of caffeine.

  
  


"You can't imagine what happened this afternoon besides the usual shit," the blond decided to tell her friend after a few minutes of chattering while she busied herself with heating up dinner.

  
  


"Of course I can't, so spill."

  
  


Emma rolled her eyes. "So, you obviously know Regina Mills, right?"

  
  


"Ugh, unfortunately, yes."

  
  


Emma had frowned with that tidbit of information as she removed her grilled cheese and onion rings from the microwave. "Well, she was my patient today at the dentistry clinic. The Novocain made her all weird and she ended up giving me a lot of compliments, Lily," the latter remained silent on the other end of the line, but Emma continued anyway. "Long story short, I asked her out on a date afterward, while she was trying to do the same." she chuckled.

  
  


"Lily…?" Emma checked her phone to see if the call was still on when she didn't answer. "Are you there?"

  
  


"Are you sure you met Regina? Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke?"

  
  


"Well, yeah… Unless she was lying about her identity on her file, it's one and the same." Emma was confused, what was Lily's point here? She couldn't see the importance of Regina's name to her friend.

  
  


"What's going on—?"

  
  


"Emma, please tell me you haven't gone out on any date yet."

  
  


"No, not yet, why?" Emma asked apprehensively after swallowing a bite of her sandwich.

  
  


"She's a total bitch."

  
  


" _Lily!_ " she practically spat out one of her onion rings in the process.

  
  


"What? It's true." Emma could almost picture the nonchalant shrug Lily was doing.

  
  


"Don't ask her out, Swan. I'm serious. I'm unmasking her for you, okay? She's the worst. Even in bed, if what Ruby says is true."

  
  


"What the hell? Lily, this is not funny. Regina is _not_ a bitch, and I won't listen to gossip, you know I can't stand it and this town surely loves it," Emma replied, getting defensive.

  
  


"Just don't say I didn't warn you when she breaks your heart or becomes unbearable," Lily provided.

  
  


"I can't believe—ugh Lily, OK then. Talk to you later."

  
  


She knows she acted like a little kid when she abruptly clicked on the button to End Call, although Emma apologized later to her friend about it. Either way, she doesn't particularly enjoy when people engage in gossip in her presence — her whole childhood was built on kids' gossiping about her being an orphan, and it sucked. She adhered to the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover' once she was old enough to understand what talking behind someone's back meant.

  
  


Now, three days later, she's arriving home (late) at 6:30 pm because she had been spending some time grabbing dinner at Granny's. Dark circles marked her tired, preoccupied eyes. It has been three days since she padded over to check-in and called for a 'Regina Mills' and the woman had been terrified. What she hadn't expected was that the brunette's visit managed to completely turn her day around from a stressful cloudy day to the most beautiful sunny scenery (no matter that it stayed a hiding-sun type of day in that afternoon too).

  
  


_Madame Mayor_ , she reminds herself fondly. It suits her. Whom she somehow hadn't ran into until that day. It never occurred to her to ask Lily or her parents who runs the town and keeps it so organized.

  
  


And now there's the matter of whether to ask her on a date or not once Regina's dental guards are done tomorrow.

  
  


"Hey, buddy! I know, I missed you too!" Emma gushes, using her foot to close the door. Setting the groceries on the counter, she sits on the floor to be at eye-level with her Golden Retriever (before he decides to jump on her in his sweet-natured kind of greeting) and pets him as he licks her face, wiggling his tail madly. Tommy is the best dog ever. (However, he can be quite similar to Marley from _Marley & Me _when he wants to). "Let me just put my stuff away and we can go." Emma has stopped caring that she talks mostly with her dog a long time ago.

  
  


She takes off her coat and hangs it with her purse on the coat rack. Removing her boots, she puts a pair of sneakers (they have bold yellow lines across the sides, but Emma could care less — they're comfy. Especially for chasing her crazy dog around).

  
  


Next, she makes quick work of attaching a leash to Tommy's collar, who's hitting anything and everything with his tail now, barking once or twice in the prospect of walking. She shakes her head and smiles as they go down the short flight of stairs after closing the door behind them. Opening the one to her building's lobby, she allows Tommy to lead her to the park — it is his favorite place to go, after all. _I really need more friends. My God._

  
  


"Tommy, please behave yourself." Emma almost prays. While it is permitted for dogs to be off their leashes inside the park's perimeters, her big ball of fur is just… too friendly. May it be dogs, people, inanimate objects or even cats: mushy fluffy Tommy has to sniff some, jump around, invite others to play ball, give a big, warm 'kiss' and potentially knock down someone.

  
  


And that's what he does, not even five minutes subsequent to their arrival. They're strolling around Storybrooke Heritage Park's duck pond side by side when on that particular cloudy day, the end of the afternoon's breeze blows right through Emma as her dog barks and runs over to a person.

  
  


That said person being Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke, her patient at the dental clinic, notorious woman around town and, before she forgets: the beautiful brunette she hasn't asked out on a date yet.

  
  


She stands still, mouth open as Tommy runs and runs and suddenly runs over Regina Mills. Not to, but in the 'knocking over' sense of the word, since he does knock her to the ground. _‘When hell freezes over’ is bullshit. This was only supposed to happen in movies!_ It's when Regina's astonished "Oh!" filters through her ears that she forces her gaping mouth to close and her legs to start working again.

  
  


"Get away from me, you little—" Regina tries to remove the dog in its entirety from her, with no success. To Emma's further mortification, before she's able to forcibly take Tommy away, he has the audacity to lick the dark-haired woman's face like a damn ice cream cone. _Really, Tommy? You decided that_ she's _your new friend?_

  
  


"I'm so sor—" Emma attempts to say, offering her right hand to the brunette while holding Tommy in his leash with her left. Thankfully, they're at the park: meaning Regina is laying down on the grass and not a concrete pavement. _Finally something right._

  
  


"Clearly you are an incompetent fool who can't properly train a dog not to knock down people as if they're rag-dolls," Regina bitterly states, eyelids down as she brushes her face in hopes of removing dog slobber from her eyes, cheeks and, basically, everywhere. "News flash: I'm not a rag-doll." She murmurs, moving from her sprawled position on grass and mud.

  
  


Emma can only lift her eyebrows as she assumes an 'Oh really?' stance. Despite that, her hand remains outstretched for _Her Majesty_. She rolls her eyes at the nickname her subconscious produces.

  
  


"I'll be sending you my dry-cleaning bill later, you can rest assured. And next time, why don't you—" Regina lifts her head to the hand and seems to do a double-take when she realizes whose hand it is. "E-Emma?"

  
  


"Hey _Madame Mayor_. I see you've met Tommy?" Emma raises an eyebrow challengingly, emphasizing Regina's moniker. "Are you alright, though?"

  
  


On autopilot, Regina grasps the offered hand gently and Emma hauls her up with little-to-no effort from the brunette's part, who's rather pale and staring in utter disbelief at the dentist's face.

  
  


"Hey." She clears her throat, brushing her hands through her pantsuit. "I'm fine."

  
  


And now something Emma's not expecting happens: the mayor flushes, losing her composure and fidgeting with her hands uncharacteristically (or so Emma believes it is, for the woman carries an aura of power and assuredness usually). _What if… Lily had been right?_ Regina Mills has a shy, soft side to her personality that is completely at odds with whomever that was five seconds ago, a demanding woman nearly throwing fireballs in Emma's direction.

  
  


Scathing words and cutting wit were replaced by the adorable version of the mayor — her customary immaculately coiffed hair is mussed and her make-up slightly smudged thanks to her golden retriever's assistance. As soon as she saw who she was bad-mouthing, may Emma say, quite unfairly, she changed in the blink of an eye. _What the hell?_

  
  


"Oh. Emma, I…" Regina looks down briefly, glancing at Tommy who is happy notwithstanding all that's happened in a short-time span.

  
  


"What? Nothing you wish to say to big Tommy here? No, um… banishment from the park, perhaps?" Emma knows she's being petty, but she can't help it. Tommy is her little-big baby and she's yet too confused by Regina's behavior.

  
  


Regina is shaking her head profusely before the light-haired woman is even finished, "No. No, not at all, Dr. Swan. I-I am sorry, I…" the brunette returns her gaze to Emma's eyes with a poorly masked… is that fear? while grinding her teeth in a clear sign of distress. "I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry. Will you accept my apology?" her voice cracked towards the end.

  
  


Emma scratches her head behind her ear, trying to buy herself time. What shall she do? The woman, as it turns out, has quite the temper, not that Emma dislikes it per se, but… Something doesn't seem to match up. Why does it feel as if Emma met Regina's twin yesterday?

  
  


Apparently she takes too long to answer, as Regina has to lightly touch her arm (she won't say that she jumped, no) for her to leave her inner thoughts. Emma blinks twice to gather her wits before saying, "Does this mean I won't have to get the dry-cleaning bill after all?" her tone is light to alleviate the tension while she pats Tommy on the head.

  
  


Nevertheless, Regina doesn't seem to grasp at her attempt at humor, if the way she closes her eyes and removes the touch on Emma's very much toned bicep serve as indication. Her posture is rigid once more and she says in a low-tone, "I'm hoping you'll consider giving me a second chance — I will be waiting for your call about my dental problems either way. Until then, Dr. Swan." Regina clenches her jaw, head held high. Circling around Emma, she leaves at a brisk pace in her business attire and her four-inch heels — _She is dressed to kill_ , Emma thinks.

  
  


Her dog whines pitifully, touching her leg with his snout. "You liked her, huh?" he barks in clear agreement. "Me too, buddy. Too bad I'm an idiot." They set off to their home, not even he was excited to be at the park anymore. Emma, for her part, shouldn't be feeling guilty — Regina had been slightly rude, regardless of her apology. In all likelihood, she's allowed Lily's warnings inside her head.

  
  
But everyone has bad days right? Perhaps work had been tough today. Perhaps those teeth of hers are bothering her again. Perhaps, then, Emma had been wrong: she had ultimately judged the book by its cover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this particular work has turned into a direction I wasn't expecting -- at all. It's become way more complex.  
> Anyway, we'll see Regina's point of view next, stay tuned.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Find me over at Tumblr by the same name: delicatepoem.
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment below, and if you enjoyed it, kudos make my day! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> What will happen when Regina remembers she has Henry in the picture? What about Emma? Stay tuned to find out.  
> Don't forget to leave a comment below, and if you enjoyed it, kudos make my day! ;)


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